The Calm Before
by Sackofnachos
Summary: A quiet moment with Anakin and Padme


This is simply a light fluff piece, set two or three days after Anakin and Padme's wedding

This is simply a light fluff piece, set two or three days after Anakin and Padme's wedding. It's a nice, domestic scene, nothing heavy. I'm sure this idea has been done to death, but I've never encountered it. Mainly because I've never read an Anakin/Padme fic before. Their son has always held more fascination for me. ;)

I have never written an Anakin/Padme fic before, either, prior to getting this strange bug. So if it stinks terribly, let me down gently, please. ;)

Finally, a big thanks to my best friend (a non-Star Wars fan), who patiently read this over to make sure it wasn't too stupid to post. You're the best!

Wow, long intro for a short story. Here we go.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

NABOO,

Naberrie Cabin Lake Retreat

The firelight became him. She watched him from the hall as he stoked the flames, light and shadow warring for prominence across his face. _So handsome_. Her husband. The thought sent a thrill through her, as it had every time she thought it, for the past two days and nights. As did the phrases 'Padme Skywalker', 'Mrs. Skywalker', and 'wife'. This was their first evening spent outside the bedroom and she blushed at that thought. Ani was a wonderfully adept husband in one way for certain.

When they'd finally decided to pull themselves out of the comfort of bed this afternoon Padme had come outside to soak up the fresh air. That's when she noticed the square parcel leaning against the cabin. Now, she held it behind her back and waited for him to notice her.

When he did, she simply returned his gaze, smiling, she was sure, the same lovesick smile he was giving her. She had debated, this afternoon, whether to show him the package at all. Oh, it was nothing evil or damaging in any serious way. And he could probably live his entire life without ever knowing and not be any worse for it. _In fact, he would probably be better for it_, she thought wryly. But in the end, she had to show him – she didn't want him stumbling across it on his own one day. He'd probably go blind. Besides, it was his gift, too.

He was staring at her. Had been for awhile now. He was still smiling but it was more confused now, eyebrows raised politely, waiting for her to speak. She simply stared back.

Finally, sensing she wasn't going to answer his silent inquires he decided to vocalize them. "What's that?"

"Mm." Padme sighed and glided over to the sofa to sit next to her new husband. "Sola sent this as a….gift." She brought the parcel out from behind her back as Anakin looked up sharply.

"You didn't tell her – "

"No, of course not. No one knows we're married." She saw him relax.

Then he smiled. "Well. What is it? You're very nervous. It can't be that bad," he teased gently.

"You may be surprised," she muttered, handing him the package. "Here. Open it."

Anakin gave her a strange look and peered warily at the package. He shook it gently, holding it up to his ear. "It doesn't bite, does it?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"It looks like it's already been opened," he observed.

"It has. I opened it earlier while you were in the bath."

"And…then you wrapped it again in the torn paper to…give to me."

"Right."

"Padme – "

"Trust me. This is something you'll want to experience in small doses." Stars, she was really worrying him! "It's okay, Anakin. There's nothing sinister about it. It's just…loud."

Still he hesitated.

"Go ahead, open it. Just remember, it's the thought that counts."

Slowly, Anakin began peeling back the gift wrap. The first rent revealed a very beautiful sea-green and sky-blue design, outlined in gold, shimmering satin.

"Hey, a blanket!" He ran his hand over the smooth material. "It's great!"

"Unfold it," Padme ordered grimly.

Anakin did as he was told and then recoiled visibly as his optical nerves were assaulted with a riot of colors, shapes, and graphic designs, stitched together in a haphazard array of patchwork. The beautiful sea-green and sky-blue square was lost in the jumble of agonizing brightness.

Anakin held up the monstrosity and could not keep the grimace off his face. Surely some of those colors veered into the ultra-violet range?

"A…quilt. It's…very nice," he complimented, and coughed, not meeting her eyes. Padme knew how he felt; she felt the same way.

"You don't have to spare my feelings, Ani. It's perfectly hideous, and you know it."

Anakin pursed his lips. "Mm." He looked at her and she could see the laugh begin to sparkle in his eyes. "It is, isn't it?"

She burst out laughing and he joined her. "It's so ugly, Ani! What are we going to do? It matches nothing; we can't put it anywhere. It clashes with itself! I don't think I could come home to this after a terribly stressful day and feel a sense of peace." She shook her head, the appalled look on her face never fading. "Poor Sola."

"Well, we can keep it for our children," Anakin teased. He looked again at the eyesore masquerading as a quilt and frowned. "At the bottom of the japor chest," he mumbled.

But Padme was stuck on his first statement. "Oh, our _children_. And how many children do you want, Ani?"

Anakin shrugged. "I dunno. A lot, I think. Six."

"SIX?!"

Anakin looked at her. "What's wrong with six?"

Padme rolled her eyes. "Nothing. But if you want six kids, YOU'RE going to have to give birth to them, because _I'm_ not going to."

"Men can't give birth."

"Well, I guess you're out of luck then."

Anakin laughed. "All right. How many do you want?"

It was Padme's turn to shrug. "I don't know. Two, I think."

"Mm. Why two?"

"Well... I think one would get lonely. He should have a playmate. And it's less painful than six."

Anakin chuckled. "I see. Well, I still want six."

"And I still think you're crazy if you think you're getting six."

"Three girls and three boys."

"Anakin."

"All with dark hair and dark eyes. Just like their beautiful mom."

Padme ducked her head at his sweetness.

"Come on," he cajoled. "Wouldn't it be great to have a bunch of little dark-haired, dark-eyed Skywalkers running around? Think of all the tickle contests we could dominate for years."

Padme found herself smiling at the image, softly nodding her head, but the kids in her mind's eye had a different look. "I want our children to have little blond heads and deep blue eyes." She looked into Anakin's and smiled her love at him, tracing his face with her fingertips. He kissed them and drew her back into his arms, letting her use him as a cushion.

"Okay. We can have three brown-haired kids and three blue-eyed kids," Anakin proclaimed in a tone that suggested he was conceding a great deal.

Padme tsked. "How boring. We need some variety. One who looks like you, one who looks like me, one with blond hair and brown eyes, and one with brown hair and blue eyes."

"Ah, so you've agreed to negotiate upward to four kids," he teased. "Good idea. Split the difference."

"I'm still only going to give birth twice."

Anakin gave her a puzzled look.

"Two sets of twins," she explained.

Anakin nodded admiringly at her solution to cutting down on labor. "Ah. And who comes first, the boys or the girls?"

"They come together, of course, in a boy-girl set."

Anakin raised his brows, amusement curling the corners of his lips. "Of course. We must keep things balanced with me being the Chosen One and all." Anakin gave his title a dramatic flair. "Balance in the Force, balanced wife to provide me with equally balanced children. You know how it goes."

Padme laughed and snuggled closer.

"But why not quadruplets?" wondered Anakin. "Get it all done in one fell swoop."

She looked askance. "Can you imagine the havoc, having four three-year-olds running around at once? We're going to spread them out at least four years," she declared.

Anakin thought back to his own childhood, picturing four little Anakins running around, and shivered. "I suppose you're right." He leaned down to nibble her neck. "So, have thought of any names yet, Mrs. Skywalker?" he whispered in her ear.

"Mmm. I was thinking Buford and Buelah for the first set," she teased.

"_What!"_

Padme laughed at Anakin's horrified expression. "And maybe…Aggie and Ansel for the second set."

"You are not naming our children."

Padme laughed. "What would you name them?"

Anakin shrugged. "I don't know. But not Buelah or Assface."

"Ansel."

"Whatever."

"So…" She nudged him playfully. "What would you name them?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it, really. And neither have you, obviously."

Padme stuck her tongue out at him. "I had other things to worry about," she lied.

"Yeah, sure."

"Names, names," Padme demanded, jabbing him gently with her elbow.

"Okay, okay, let's see...what would I name our kids...hm…Well, I've always liked 'Luke' for a boy."

"Luke. Why Luke?"

"I don't know. Just….it sounds tough, I guess. I always hated my name growing up. 'Ani' sounds too…girly."

"It does not!"

"Yes, it does. _Oh, look at little Ani_,'" he mocked in a high-pitched voice. "'_Isn't he __**darling**__? Cute as a button! Why did you name him Ani? Did you want a bgirl?' _Yuck."

Padme had to hold her sides she was laughing so hard.

"Very funny."

"You are funny. But I like Luke, too. It's cute," she stated, just to tweak him.

"It's tough," he insisted, a little scowl on his face.

Padme held back her snicker. "Okay, Luke because it's tough. What's it mean?"

"'Bringer of light.'"

"Appropriate for a future Jedi. I'm impressed you knew that."

"I looked it up once."

"Luke Skywalker," Padme tested and then nodded approvingly. "That sounds adorable." Before he could protest she ammended, "Adorably rugged," and kissed his cheek. "What about your daughter?"

Anakin licked his lips. "Leia."

"That's very pretty, Ani."

"It means 'meadow'," he informed her softly, earnestly. "It was where you said you first fell in love with me."

"Oh, Anakin." She kissed him softly. "It's beautiful." He returned her kiss and held her against him, feeling truly content for the first time in years.

"You still have another set of twins to name," came Padme's muffled voice.

"I think it's your turn."

"I had my –"

"Be serious this time. I was, and you know I hate being the serious one in this relationship."

"Okay, okay. Well, for a boy I've always liked Mykel."

"Mykel Skywalker." Anakin plastered a thoughtful look on his face, nodding in approval. "Sounds good. Not sissy at all – as long as we stay away from 'Mykie'. Good job."

"I like Mykie!" she protested. It was cute.

"It's too cute," he protested.

She snickered. It always amazed her that they could have the same thoughts, yet have completely opposite feelings about those thoughts. "Well, I'm relieved you like it, anyway. My back up was Samwell."

Anakin wrinkled his nose. "Samwell!" he said in disbelief. "Yuck. Samwell Skywalker. He'd spend the first four years of his life calling himself Thamwell Thkywalker."

He was ready for the smack that landed flat across his chest and it only made him chuckle.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized insincerely, but kissed the top of her head and pulled her back into his embrace. She tsked softly but squeezed his arms tighter around her.

"Okay," he soothed. "Mykel for a boy. And for a girl?"

She licked her lips, an utterly mischievous glint in her eyes. "Ani," she pronounced.

"Oh, ha ha." He shoved her to the next cushion and crossed his arms as she giggled madly. After a few moments he couldn't resist the sound of her laughter any longer and joined in.

"Okay, okay, I said I would be serious," she gasped.

"You should be a comedienne."

"From Queen to Senator to comedienne," she intoned dramatically. "The Life and Times of Padme Naberrie Amidala Skywalker."

"I would read those memoirs."

"You'd only read it for all the dirty parts."

"ALL the dirty parts? You mean with you and Palo?"

"Exactly."

"Ha."

"We could make it into a holovid after it becomes a smashing success."

"Right. And watch the credits roll in."

"From Queen to Senator to comedienne to holostar. I seem to be regressing professionally."

"What a life."

Padme sighed wistfully. "Let's just stay here forever, Ani. Disappear from public view and raise a brood of little Skywalkers on the lake, and just be happy."

"I'd like to, Padme." His voice was hoarse.

She nodded sadly. "Responsibility is a mynock."

"But just in case we ever get to live that dream, you better finish naming our children. I believe you still need to give our second daughter a name."

Gratefully, Padme slipped back into the moment. The future could wait another few days. "Wellll," she threw him a wry look, "it WAS going to be Skyler. But that would be mean now."

"A bit redundant, yeah," agreed Anakin with a grin.

"So how about Maya?"

"That was fast thinking."

"It was my back up name."

"Oh. What's it mean?"

"'Springtime.'"

"You had these picked out a long time ago, didn't you?"

"Since I was twelve," she confirmed.

"I thought so. Girls." He rolled his eyes.

She pinched him in the ribs. "Oh, whatever, Mr-I've-Always-Liked-Luke. You've had that name picked out for years, too."

"Only because I wish I had such a wizard name," he protested. "I decided when I was six that I'd never name my kids anything as sissy as 'Ani'."

She laughed. "You really hate that nickname, don't you?"

"From everyone but you."

"I'm touched."

"You should be."

"So…Luke and Leia, and Mykel and Maya. Glad that's decided. Now what?"

He leaned forward and kissed her, passionately this time. "What do you say we get started on those kids?" he growled.

"I'd say that was a fine idea, Mr. Skywalker."


End file.
